Ultra-Circular Population Report
An exploratory JPL Small-Body Database selection identified 29 objects with a = 0.97–1.03 AU, e < 0.05, and i < 5°. The reported catalogue fraction is higher near Earth's orbit than in the selected comparison zones. Whether this represents an excess beyond natural dynamics and survey selection remains untested.
Question and sample
The inquiry asks which catalogued near-Earth objects occupy nearly circular, low-inclination orbits, and which could benefit from physical characterization. Orbital similarity alone does not establish a common origin, a resonant state, or artificiality.
The reported SBDB query compares five semi-major-axis zones: inner (0.50–0.70 AU), Venus (0.70–0.76 AU), Earth (0.97–1.03 AU), outer (1.10–1.30 AU), and Mars (1.30–1.36 AU), using e < 0.05 and i < 5° in each. These are descriptive bins with different widths and catalogue selection effects, not interchangeable control populations.
Reported counts
The Earth zone contains 29 selected objects among 1,075 entries (2.70%). The inner, Venus, and Mars zones together contain 2,020 entries and no objects passing the cuts. The outer zone contains 12 among 5,115 entries (0.23%). The Earth-zone fraction is approximately twelve times the outer-zone fraction in this catalogue snapshot.
Zero detections in some bins do not imply an expected natural count of zero at Earth. The outer zone also contains selected objects. A claim of a population excess would require an appropriate dynamical model, orbit uncertainties, and survey selection and completeness estimates. No calibrated significance for such an excess is established here.
Orbital and physical context
The selected objects have reported Earth-relative Tisserand parameters near 3.00. This is consistent with their selected Earth-like orbital elements; it is not independent evidence of a shared origin or co-orbital resonance. Resonance classification requires dynamical analysis.
Natural delivery, encounters, co-orbital dynamics, lunar ejecta, and fragmentation are hypotheses to investigate. The simple zone comparison does not determine their relative contributions or exclude them.
The pilot compiled no spectra, measured albedos, rotation periods, or directly measured diameters for these 29 objects. That describes this compilation, not an exhaustive or current literature search. Its size estimates, from absolute magnitude with assumed albedo pV = 0.15, range from below one metre to roughly 38 m and depend on that assumption.
Limitations and follow-up
This is an exploratory catalogue snapshot. Discovery geometry, magnitude limits, observation cadence, uncertain orbits, and the catalogue's near-Earth selection can affect comparisons between zones. Updated catalogue queries and a model of the selection process should precede claims that the population is dynamically unusual.
Spectra, calibrated colours, and rotation measurements could help assess natural composition and origin hypotheses for accessible members. Observing dates and brightness estimates in the earlier report are planning estimates; feasibility needs current ephemerides and instrument-specific assessment.
The working console
The interactive console presents the reported object table and zone counts with a schematic orbital view. It is a static pilot summary, not a live catalogue query. The downloadable PDF preserves the earlier report; its stronger population claims should be read with the qualifications above.